So Much Better Without Them
by CrystalHeart27
Summary: Sasuke has always told Sakura she was weak. What happens when she can't take it anymore, and leaves Konoha? Broken and betrayed, Sakura embarks on a journey to get stronger, only to find out the shocking secrets her 'parents' hid from her. SakuXundecided
1. Still weak to you

**CH: yay!! My second fic!! -does happy dance-**

**Sasuke: ...loser.**

**CH: -twitch- ...what did you call me?**

**Sasuke: -rolls eyes- wow, you're even worse than the dobe. And more deaf, too.**

**CH: that's it! BOB!!**

**Bob: ...**

**CH: you know what to do!**

**Bob: -nods, then proceeds to drag sasgay forcefully-**

**Sasgay-I mean sasuke: Hey--!! What are you doing!! Let go of me!!**

**CH: ...ahem... anyways, on to the disclaimer!! I do not own Naruto. If I did, I would be a rich girl with a life who does not write fanfictions for boredom and lack of anything to do... -stares innocently- ...what! I don't! I swear!!**

--

Sakura sighed in content. Team seven had been traveling nonstop for 5 hours straight, and she was very tired. After a half hour, they decided to finally rest. Thus, the reason why Sakura was so happy.

Not only that, but Naruto, Sai, Kakashi-sensei, Yamato and herself managed to bring Sasuke back. And this was the first mission they were assigned since their reunion.

Sakura smiled a true smile. Team seven finally reunited after 6 and a half years. It almost seemed too good to be true.

"Hey ugly! Why are you smiling?"

Her smile quickly fell into an annoyed frown.

"That's none of your business. What do you want, anyway?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to tell you that you look even uglier with that smile plastered to your already ugly face."

A vein popping was visible, and before poor Sai knew it, he was punched into oblivion.

Kakashi came in from catching some fish with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't ask." She said.

"I don't think I wanna know..." he shook his head and promptly squealed as he took out his favorite book.

"Pervert..." Sakura muttered as Kakashi giggled.

Sakura then noticed how long Sasuke and Naruto were taking gathering firewood, so she decided to look for them.

She found them in the woods sparring and she was about to call their names, when suddenly she heard them talking about her.

Letting her curiosity get the best of her, she hid behind a tree and listened for their voices.

"Hn...you've...gotten good...dobe.." Sasuke said between breaths.

"So...have...you..." Naruto said, tired as well.

She saw that they both collapsed to the floor, and they both were breathing heavily.

After they stopped heaving and calmed down, they engaged into their conversation once more.

"Hey teme?" Naruto asked kind of nervous.

"Yeah..?"

"You know how we've improved a lot since our Genin days?" Naruto hesitated for a moment before continuing. "What do you think of Sakura-chan, now?"

Sakura's eyes widened, and she could already feel her heart beating wildly in her chest. She closely listened to what Sasuke had to say.

"Did you really expect for her to get stronger? I always thought she was weak. What makes you think I'll change my mind about it. " Sasuke said coldly.

"HEY!! Don't talk about Sakura-chan like that!! Sakura-chan is a great kunoichi, she was trained by Tsunade-baa-chan herself! " Naruto said angrily.

"Hn. Whatever dobe, you know it's true. Even Kakashi refused to train her because she was weak. And even Yamanaka is stronger than her." And with that, Naruto shut up and continued to gaze at the stars with a guilty face.

Back at the tree, all Sakura could do was stare at them with a face of pure horror and sadness.

'_...H-he s-still t-thinks i-i-i'm... weak..?'_

Sakura couldn't take it anymore, so she left her hiding place and dashed the opposite way of the woods.

'_How could he?...i trained my ass off just to bring him back, and THIS is how he repays me?!'_

Sakura soon felt her sadness turn into anger.

'_HOW COULD HE!! And what does he mean, even Kakashi-sensei didn't want to train me!?'_

'_**CHA!! I would beat him into a bloody pulp**__** so then he can realize how strong we really are!! I mean, ask Sai!!'**_

'_Well, you have a point there. I __**almost**__ feel bad for him. ALMOST. But he kind of deserves it...'  
_

'_**Amen to that, sister.'**_

--

Sakura's P.O.V

After Sasuke's and Naruto's conversation--and pay attention that I dropped the -kun in his name, I decided to walk around the forest for a while. I didn't really want to face them yet. Not after this.

I sighed and found a suitable rock, before sitting on it. Then, I started thinking about what I just witnessed.

I frowned, thinking of all the possible things I could do to him for betraying me, but I couldn't help but admit that he was probably right.

'_I haven't really improved these past years. I mean, yeah! Of course I could punch hard, and I have an I.Q. of god-knows-what, but I still can't help but think I'm still the weak little girl I was before.'_

'S_**ay that again, and I'll personally torment you with our 12-year old memories of Sas-gay rejecting us.'**_

I sighed angrily. What was wrong with me? I've been training my ass off to bring Sas-gay- I mean Sasuke home, and then all of a sudden the hard work I've tried to achieve, was in vain. Why? Because a certain shinobi won't even acknowledge my very presence.

Yes. You heard right. I hadn't even bothered to conceal my chakra, and I knew that they knew that I was there.

What did he want from me? I hope that he realized that I'm not as strong as them. I mean, Sasuke has the Sharingan, Naruto has the Kyuubi, Sai could draw animals out of ink, Kakashi-sensei also has the Sharingan, and Yamato used to be Orochimaru's experiment.

Me?

I'm just the weak female teammate with the freaky super strength, awesome healing abilities, and the annoying inner persona. But other than that, I had nothing.

Sometimes I just wish that I had a bloodline ability or something, but I know that that'll never happen.

I was interrupted out of my train of thought when I heard a rustle in a close-by bush.

I grabbed several Shuriken and threw them at the direction of the sudden movement, when suddenly somebody caught them.

"Hn. Can't even throw some Shuriken properly. Pathetic." Sasuke said.

"AW!! Don't worry Sakura-chan!! You'll get us next time!!" Naruto said enthusiastically.

I felt my anger quickly rising.

'_**Who the hell do they think they are?!**__** LET ME AT THEM SAKURA-CHAN!!'**_

I quickly shut my inner up.

"Like that'll ever happen dobe. She's too weak to even recognize our chakra." Sasuke said coldly.

I couldn't take it anymore, and exploded at him.

"What do _you_ know?! Have you really ever seen me train?! Have you?! All you ever talk about, is how you're going to destroy Itachi. But have you? Huh? No. And _you_ say _I'm_ weak. To me, it seems that **you're** the weak one Sasuke-_kun_."

I started walking away, but then i stopped.

"And for the record, Itachi is WAY better than you."

And with that, I turned around leaving a shocked Naruto, and a seething Sasuke.

--()--()--()--()--()--()--()--()--()--()--()--()--()--()--()--()--()--()--()--()-

**CH: aw!! Poor Sakura-chan!! She deserves so much better than Sasuke. But thankfully, this will be a SakuraXmultiple****.**

**Sasuke: WHAT!?**

**CH: -smirks- what? You're jealous?**

**Sasuke: NO!! why would I be jealous? PSH!! -twitch-**

**CH: yeah sure. Mm Hm. You keep on telling yourself that. We all know you're in denial.**

**Sasuke: WHAT!!**

**CH: remember to leave a review!! I'll give you cookies!! Constructive criticism is appreciated. PLZ REVIEW!! I'LL GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO STAB SAS-GAY WITH A POINTY KATANA!!**

**Sasuke: what?! I didn't agree to this!!**


	2. Who's That Girl?

**CH: Bonjour!! **

**Sasuke: …**

**CH: …chicken ass?**

**Sasuke: … -shudder- **

**CH: O.o …Oh…em…gee…**

**Sasuke: -blink- ...**

**CH: holy crap!! You're not saying something offensive to me!! ****I think Itachi fell in love and admitted that he cares for you!!**

**Itachi: -glare- do not bring me into this. ...and I do not care for my foolish little brother.**

**CH: A-ha!! So you admit that you're in love, then?! -gets attacked-**

**CH: ...AHHHHHHHHH!! I think now would be a good time for the disclaimer before I die by the super-hot-amazing-Itachi-that-i-am-currently-in-love-with-even-though-i-won't-admit-it!!  
**

**Sasuke: -grumbles- CrystalHeart27 does not own Naruto, nor she ever will. Why? 'cause life's unfair like that. You can't have everything you want. Like this time, I wanted a puppy, but then—**

**CH: YEAH, YEAH!! Whatever. -looks back- OH SHIT!! -runs from Itachi-**

--

Have you ever felt like hurting someone until they swore they saw the light? I have. And this just happens to be one of the moments where I wished that Uchiha Sasuke would've got raped by Orochimaru.

I glared at his back, while holding my newly gained bruise.

He seemed to have felt the glare because he turned around and snorted at me as if saying _'How weak. Can't even handle a proper punch. Pathetic.' _

Hmmm... now, where have I heard that line before..?

Anyways, you might be thinking along the lines of _'Why hasn't she healed herself yet?'  
_

The answer is simple, Really.

I couldn't.

You're probably snorting at me, and whispering at how weak I am, but I couldn't.

I couldn't even heal a palm-size bruise on my stomach.

I Can't explain it but every time there's a full moon, i couldn't seem to use any chakra. At all.

And other than that, every time i looked at the full moon, i'd get entranced. I felt as if i couldn't stop staring. The first time it happened, i freaked out completely. I didn't eat dinner that night, and i just stayed in my bed.

I looked at my team before speeding up to catch up with them. Naruto looked at me questioningly.

"Ano... Sakura-chan, Why did you attack Sasuke-teme all of a sudden?"

"Well, if you count all the times Sasuke called me weak, useless, and annoying since the beginning of this mission, then you would get your answer." I said in an airy tone.

"But Sakura-chan!! Sasuke-teme only got back! Why can't we be like we used to be? Can't we at least get along during this mission? " Naruto looked at me pleadingly.

I looked at his pleading face before remembering what happened earlier.

_Flashback_

_I was glaring at Sasuke since he returned to the campsite. I knew he felt it, but decided to ignore it anyways. He finally turned back to me and rivaled my glare._

_"What do you want, weakling?" Sasuke mocked. "Oh, wait. I know. You wanted to ask me out, didn't you? Well, too bad. I don't date weak little girls."_

_That was all it took before I lashed out at him. And all of this happened before cerulean eyes that watched with sadness._

_End Flashback_

I stared at Naruto. Damn him. Damn him for making me feel guilty.

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

"Fine. But only if Uchiha agrees to, too." Naruto visibly cringed.

'_She's calling him by his last name now?' _

"Fine!" Sasuke barked. "But that doesn't mean we'll like each other's company!"

"Fine by me!! Itachi could kill you for all I care. And plus, you'll never be able to beat him anyways. Also, his hair is so much cooler than yours! I mean, who has hair that is shaped like a chicken's ass? Nobody, that's for sur—"

I stopped in mid sentence when all of a sudden, chicken ass pinned me to a nearby tree.

"_WHAT.DID.YOU.SAY?_" he said angrily with his sharingan activated.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Did I hurt your non-existent feelings, Uchiha?" I said in mock sympathy.

"GUYS!!" Naruto shouted.

"WHAT!?" we both glared.

"Hehehe...y-you guys p-promised to cooperate, remember?" he said nervously.

"I would, but as you can see, I can't move right now." I said while glaring at chicken ass.

"Hn." He retreated, but was still glaring at me.

"...sigh... this is going to be one hell of a day..." Naruto sighed.

--

I walked home silently.

I was currently going over all the previous events that happened today.

I smiled sadly. Even if Naruto-baka tried, it was impossible to be the old team seven again.

Then I thought of chicken ass.

My smile slowly turned into a full-fledged scowl.

Oh, how I hate him. I hate him with every possible fiber of my being. I've hated him since he tried to kill Naruto, and possibly even before that, when he decide to merrily go his way to the snake pedophile and leave me on a cold, hard _bench._

Someone could've fucking raped me for goodness sakes!!

I finally reached my home, and was about to unlock my door, when I suddenly heard a shrilly, and loud voice say _"oh, Sasuke-kun!!"_

I cringed at the obnoxious noise, and frowned.

What would chicken ass be doing at—I checked my watch—12:36 at midnight?

My frown got even deeper, and I decided to find out myself.

I stealthily jumped up to a tree and landed gracefully in one of the branches.

What I saw, made my blood boil.

THE Uchiha Sasuke was letting a red-haired girl HUG him.

Hold on a second. Did I just see correctly?

I rubbed my eyes, and pinched myself three times before opening my eyes again.

Yep. She was still there, and he was still letting him hug her.

For some reason, that little sign of affection made me angry.

And the worst thing of all is that I didn't know why.

--

**CH: gomen!! gomen!! i'm soooooo sorry for not updating, but i have computer issues, and my uncle is leav****ing to Peru, so he's taking his computer with him (which i am sadly using right now.) i know you all are waiting for sakura to leave and get super pissed at chicken ass, but i want to take this story into a sloooow pace. i want to make sure i explain things right. Anyways... PLZ REVIEW!! do it for the sake of Gaara, that he has no more cookies, and he's sad. :(**

**Chibi Gaara: plz? -pouty face- -sniff- i need cookies, and CH won't give them to me if she doesn't get any reviews... :(**

**CH: you heard him peoplz, so why don't you press that blurple (half blue, half purple) button!! it's very lonely. it needs a friend.**


	3. The Truth Hurts

**CH: OMG!! I AM SOOO SORRY!!**

**Sasuke: Of course you are… -sarcasm-**

**CH: -glares at sasugay- Whatever. I am so sorry I didn't update sooner!! I currently have lots of other websites that I write in, and I've been busy! …Well, and..um, I've had a writer's block for this story for a while, so… yeah…**

**But, WOW!! I AM SOOOO THANKFUL FOR EVERYONE THAT REVIEWED!! 12 reviews? For only two measly chapters that are not even worthy? I AM SOOO HAPPY!! Here's a thank you and a huge basket of cookies to the people that reviewed:**

**Dreamergirl92813**

**blossomheartxoxo**

**eeveegirlsakura**

**BloodxMoonxNightmare**

**cute0anime0addict**

**teiana**

**Luka1Sakura**

**my lil' cherry blossom**

**Usagi no Hana**

**harajuku7**

**Bronze Angel**

**Kurenai Uchimaki Hime**

**Once again, THANK YOU All!! Oh, and um… I edited chapters 1 and 2 because I reread it, and I figured out that there are some events that are missing, so go back and read, k?**

**--**

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The clock ticked while I laid in my bed wide awake.

I was thinking of Sasuke and the red-haired girl. I couldn't put my finger on it as I recalled the feeling I felt while watching them.

…was I…jealous..?

I widened my eyes before shaking my head rapidly.

No. I couldn't be. I hated him. That was enough proof…

…right?

I furrowed my brows. Did I really hate him? Or did I just want him to acknowledge my strength?

I pulled my hair in frustration. Did I _love_ him? Even after all he's done to me…? _Should_ I love him? Maybe it was best if I just let him be. After I tried to stop loving him, I slowly started healing until I felt like I had never loved him. Like he had never broken my heart.

But now…

-

Now, what?

-

What did I feel for him?

-

I shook my head before turning my head sideways and letting my head get comfort from the pillow.

Maybe it was best that I got some sleep.

--

I yawned as my eyes accustomed to the sunlight.

I groggily pulled the covers aside and got out of bed. Then my whole body turned alert as I felt a presence in the room.

I heard a poof, and an ANBU ninja appeared.

"Tsunade-sama urgently requests your presence at her office." The ANBU said and then poofed away.

I blinked and then rushed to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready.

After showering and changing into the same outfit as always, I headed to the Hokage tower.

While I was walking, I couldn't help but get curious as I watched a group of gossiping ladies talk loudly from a corner in the street.

"Did you hear!?"

"OH MY GOD!! I KNOW!!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE UCHIHA SASUKE HAS A GIRLFRIEND!!"

My whole body turned frigid and my eyes widened. I Quickly took a deep breath, and leaned closer to listen more carefully.

"Are you sure?"

"YES!! I saw him this morning with three people. One looked like a shark, the other one was really tall, and the third one was a red-haired girl."

I gasped, and the ladies' attention quickly turned to me. I turned to them, and asked.

"How do you know they're dating?"

A brown haired one answered.

"Well, I saw them holding hands!! It was the cutest thing, EVER!!"

I just stood there. Shock written all over my face. The ladies just went back to gossiping but I didn't care.

'_S-so, they were dating..?'_

To my immense surprise, I felt something wet slide on my cheeks, and falling on the palm of my hand. I carefully studied it.

'_Tears?'_

Soon, more of them slid down, until all you could see, was a long stream of tears falling down to the ground.

My whole body shook.

'_WHY!! Why am I crying?! I'm supposed to be over him!!'_

I ran to the park, and sat on the nearest bench.

'…_I'm supposed to hate him...'_

I stayed in the park for a few minutes, and then wiped my tears. I stood up suddenly, and remembered I had to go see Tsunade-shishou. I sighed and walked the way towards the Hokage tower.

--

When I got in, I saw the whole Rookie 9, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sasuke's companions.

"Ah, Sakura. You finally decided to join us." Tsunade smiled wryly at me and I blushed. "Now all we need is Kakashi and—" She was interrupted by a 'Poof!'

"Sorry I'm late. Some fangirls were following me and—"

"SAVE IT FOR SOMEONE WHO CARES, YOU OLD MAN!!" Naruto shouted.

Kakashi smiled under his mask. "I'm not THAT old, am i?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes, and her smile turned into a more serious expression.

"Ok, that's enough, you two. The reason I called you all here is because, as you can see, we have guests."

Everyone's attention turned to the 'guests'.

Tsunade continued. "Everyone, this is Suigetsu, Juugo, and Karin. They will be staying here as ninja's of Konoha; Under surveillance, of course."

Everyone had different reactions. I'll leave it to you to figure out who's who.

-

'_WHAT!! IS TSUNADE-BAA-CHAN CRAZY!? She's had too much Sake. These were the same people that almost killed us, while trying to get the Teme back!!"_

-

'_I-I w-wonder h-how Naruto-kun is g-going t-to react t-to this…'_

-

'_Hn.'_

-

'…'

-

'_-sigh- This is so troublesome…'_

-

'_ARGH! She just called us for this?! I could've been practicing my new move with Akamaru!!'_

-

'_Those two guys look hot. But this Karin girl, I don't like.'_

-

'_That Suigetsu's sword looks powerful. Maybe I could ask him if I could try it for a while.'_

-

'_I HOPE THEIR SPIRITS ARE AS YOUTHFUL AS YOUTH!! IF THEY ARE NOT, I WILL DO 500 LAPS AROUND KONOHA!! GAI-SENSEI WILL BE SO PROUD OF MY YOUTHFULNESS!!'_

-

'_-munch- that blue guy looks tasty –munch-'_

-

'_I wonder what kind of emotion I'm supposed to feel'_

-

'_So Sasuke brought them here. I bet he probably brought Karin to revive the Uchiha clan.-sigh- why do I feel like my heart's breaking..?'_

--

Tsunade surveyed everyone's reaction, and the one who surprised her and worried her most, was Sakura's.

Tsunade dismissed everyone but Sakura.

"Why did you want me to stay, shishou?"

Tsunade sighed and looked at her straight in the eye. "Sakura-chan, you can't fool me. You still love the Uchiha, don't you?"

Sakura struggled for words but she stayed silent.

"I know how you feel right now, but there's nothing you can do to make him realize what a great person you are. You know how he is. All he cares about is killing Itachi and reviving his clan, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Then why'd you let his _other_ teammates stay?" Sakura whispered quietly.

Tsunade frowned. "I had no other choice. I'm not the one who decided it. It was the council. They know of the beneficial things they will obtain if Sasuke re-stores the Uchiha clan. Not to mention, the powerful ninjas he brought with him."

Sakura remained silent.

Suddenly, Tsunade straightened up. "That's not the only reason I called you in here, Sakura."

Sakura just listened, but didn't move an inch.

"It's about your parents."

Then, like magic, Sakura looked up alarmed and looked at Tsunade with worry.

"I-I'm sorry to say, Sakura, but they were murdered on their mission."

Sakura's heart stopped, and suddenly, everything around her turned blurry and tears were instantly streaming down her face.

"But they left you a note. I've already read it, but here, take a look at it."

Sakura took the letter with shaking hands, and started reading the letter.

-

-

_Dear Sakura,_

_We're sorry to say that we are no longer alive, but watching over you in heaven. Since the day you became a ninja, we were proud. Proud to have a daughter who'll take the responsibilities of protecting other people. But…time changes, people grow up, and the truth is revealed. Sakura, we love you with all our heart, and if we could keep you forever, we would._

_What we're trying to say is that, Haruno Sakura, you are not our daughter._

_We're sorry that we never told you, but it's the truth. We found you as a mere 4 year-old, outside a burning village—alive, and well. We don't know how you survived, but we are glad you did. _

_Since then, we decided to keep you and take care of you. You know, be parents? Watch you grow up, get married, have kids—but alas. We knew that while being ninjas, that could never happen. _

_We do not know anything of your real parents or family, but you DO have something that you could use to discover your old life. _

_A Locket. It has your name in it, Sakura. And also…a small old note. It was charred with the flames from the village, but it's still readable. We gave it to The fourth, but Tsunade-sama may know where it is. _

_We wish you the best of luck, and remember. We love you, and no matter what happens, we will always be watching over you and protecting you._

_Sincerely,_

_Your mother and father._

_-_

_-_

Throughout the whole letter, Sakura couldn't stop the tears that were overflowing with each word her eyes scanned. She thought she was the only normal one in team 7. The one with a family. The one with a great life.

But who would've thought this..?

"Sakura." Tsunade said softly.

Sakura looked up from her teary eyes.

"Here is the note, if you want to read it."

Sakura snatched the note from a surprised Tsunade.

-

-

__

_**When darkness surrounds you,**_

_**Light will always surround your heart too.**_

_**Follow the path of light, and you'll find your answers, **_

_**However, be aware of who you trust**_

_**For you may never know which way you'll be thrust**_

--

I kept repeating the small note over and over again, in my head.

'_What is it trying to tell me..?'_

I kept walking without watching where I was going until it was too late, and I bumped on someone.

"Hn. Watch where you're going, Sakura."

I froze at the voice. Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, who is she?" said the girl, Karin, while looking at Sakura in disgust.

"Hn. No one important. Just a weak, crybaby, ninja." Sasuke said, while mirroring Karin's expression.

-

'_...just a weak, crybaby, ninja..'_

-

Sakura felt something inside her, snap. And before she knew it, tears were already pouring out.

"Aww…look!! She's already crying!!" Karin exclaimed teasingly, while Sasuke just watched and smirked. "Do you need your Mommy and Daddy?!"

Sakura smiled bitterly. "I don't have any. They're dead." Sakura swiftly turned around, missing Karin's shocked face, and Sasuke's frowning one.


	4. Sakura's Decision! Tsunade's Discovery!

Today was the day.

Sakura closed her eyes and bit her lip. It was for the best.

Sakura zipped up her bag and checked once again for her necessities. Once she was sure everything was where it was supposed to be, Sakura sighed.

She took the picture of Team Seven and looked at it fondly.

She remembered the day that they took this picture. Naruto had been, well, overexcited, to say the least. For god's sake, the boy was jumping up and down!

Then it was Kakashi-sensei. He was a bit irritated, considering the fact that the picture was cutting in his 'precious' time of Icha Icha Paradise.

Tch. Pervert.

Sasuke-teme (Mwahaha!! Yes, I call him that now. I've gotta thank Naruto for the inspiration!) was all angst and emo as usual. He was like 'I'm too sexy for this picture'. (AN: Tch! Itachi-kun is SOO much hotter.. –drools-)

Well, not really, but you get the point.

And lastly, it was me. Back then, I remember taking over an hour just to get ready and to impress 'Sasuke-kun'.

Sakura looked at the picture once more before putting it face down on her nightstand.

Grabbing her bag and putting it over her shoulder, Sakura walked out the door of her room and then her house.

Her decision had been made, and there was no stopping her.

Not even her most precious people. (AN: which Sasuke is NOT included in)

* * *

Tsunade studied Sakura's file carefully.

_3 year old Haruno Sakura was found wandering around the border of Iwagakure. Her clothes were tattered and she had minor burns. She was found by the recently married Haruno Sumi and Haruno Tadashi, while on a mission to find out about the burning village._

_We believe that Haruno Sakura was from that village. We do not know how she survived the disaster. All we could retrieve from her were some names. 'Ryoichi'_, '_Sayuki', and 'Tatsuo'._

_When we looked in scrolls for the names, their full names were Katsumo Ryoichi, Togashiro Sayuki, Shinako Tatsuo. Their village is still unknown._

_Haruno Sakura lost her memories of everything._

Tsunade dropped the paper in shock.

"Shinako Tatsuo? You mean that brat knew Sakura?" Tsunade cursed. She remembered Tatsuo from 3 years ago. The brat was wandering around looking for someone, oddly enough, named Sakura.

Tsunade saw the kid and took him under her wing, feeling bad for him. She took care of him and they traveled for a few months before he left, claiming that he would never give up looking for 'his little sister'.

"This is too much of a coincidence. Why didn't I figure it out before!? Haruno Sakura is Shinako Tatsuo's sibling!" Tsunade cursed again.

"He might be the one who knows what happened during the destruction of the village! I have to go look for him as fast I can!" Tsunade was about to call someone, when one of the Konoha guards barged in.

"Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama!" He seemed desperate.

Tsunade let out an irritated sigh. "What is it, Araki?"

Araki threw his arms in the air, alarmed. "Haruno Sakura was just seen leaving the village with her luggage!"

"WHAT!?" Tsunade exploded. "I didn't give her any missions! She might be leaving for good to find out what happened to her real family!" Tsunade grabbed some files.

"Go gather Kakashi's team and Asuma's team. Tell them to come here immediately! No excuses! Now, go! Go!!"

Araki nodded nervously. "R-right! I won't disappoint you, Hokage-sama!"

And then he left in a rush. Tsunade buried her face in her palms.

"What have you done, Sakura?"

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Sakura ran in top speed. She had just left Konoha around ten minutes ago and she was hoping to arrive at the Mist village before nighttime.

Sakura sighed sadly. She could just imagine Naruto's betrayed expression and Tsunade-shishou drinking sake.

Sakura narrowly avoided a tree. _'I'm sure she would understand why I'm doing this.'_

Sakura wiped a tear from her eye. "I wish it didn't have to come to this someday, but I have to do this. I have to find out about my past!"

Sakura's sad smile turned into a determined gaze.

'_I WILL find out. And nobody will stop me.'_

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**CH: Oh, god. I feel so terrible for making you guys wait for so long. I really don't have any excuses this time, except for my laziness. Heh heh.**

**I'm really sorry, and I promise that from now on, I'll try to update as much as I can. Thanks so much to the people who supported this story! You guys helped me LOTS!!**

**And as always, REVIEW!!**


	5. A Familiar Face

**Hey, everyone! CrystalHeart27 here. Wow, it's been like, what? Almost two years? Unfortunately, it's just that I'm in an IB school and hell, if you know what IB is, you'd understand how much work they require from us.**

**I've definitely matured these past two years and as I was reading this story, I was mortified. Man, I wrote TERRIBLE. I was, to say the least, ashamed of my horrible writing.**

**So, I'll try to make it up with the next few chapters of this story. I really wish I could rewrite this, but I simply don't have time for it anymore. I'll just try my best to turn this story around to make it good.**

**By the way, I will have the characters change drastically. Sakura specially, will mature faster and think differently than others. You'll see why.**

**I will start off with a time skip because I can't really remember what I originally had planned for this story. **

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So Much Better Without Them

Chapter 5

_A year later…_

Sakura's POV

It had been a year since I left Konoha and I was starting to wonder if it was the smartest thing to do. Not only did I leave without warning shishou, but by now I was probably declared a missing-nin. It was not what I wanted at all, but at that time finding what happened to my family was the most important thing. Maybe that's how Sasuke felt.

Thinking about Sasuke no longer hurt. Actually, I had somehow developed a strange understanding with him. I now knew what it felt like to be truly alone, and I didn't like it one bit.

I spent all my time searching for clues. Although I didn't find much, it eventually led me to a small village near Iwagakure. Well, it used to be a village, more like ruins now.

Everything was charred by what I assumed was fire. It must've been one hell of a fire to burn everything in the town. I also assumed that the town was pretty well off before the fire. I found bits of expensive jewelry and gold among the piles of dirt and soot.

There was one thing, however, that left me stumped.

It was a small hut, at least six feet wide and five feet tall. I had to hunch down a little to be able to enter. The hut was at least a mile from the original village and hidden by a fairly powerful genjutsu. Why anyone would hide such a thing was beyond me.

I went inside only for a little while, but it left me completely surprised and just a bit suspicious. There were things that a little girl, maybe of four or five years, would have. There were a few dolls, a few dresses, a few more toys and a brush.

The brush had pink strands.

It could've been any other girl with pink hair, I thought. But one little detail stood out.

On its handle was a name. Sakura. It was written in a fancy calligraphy and in silver ink. It looked expensive and fragile so I didn't touch it.

But all this… brought _memories_ from my mind. I couldn't remember faces or names, but I remembered events. And in one memory, I was playing with a boy a few years older than me in this very hut.

That's when I knew this was definitely part of my past. But why would someone want to conceal it with a genjutsu? Was there something in there that someone didn't want anyone to see?

That's why I was going there today to find out.

I ran with a small skip in my step. Today I was going to investigate the small hut I knew for sure I had played in as a small child. I was excited beyond belief, it was like finding something long forgotten with time. I would finally get something to work on that would hopefully lead me to what happened twelve years ago.

When I came to the clearing, I stopped. The hut would be invisible at first glance, but an experienced genjutsu user would feel as if something was off. I spotted a slight flickering to the left of the clearing and smirked. There it was.

Doing a few hand signs, I muttered, "Kai!"

The hut came into view, and I noticed something was wrong. The door was wide open and I heard some bustling inside. With narrowed eyes, I dropped into fighting stance automatically and approached the hut carefully with light steps.

I reached the door and stiffened when I heard footsteps.

"Who's there?" a voice whispered harshly. "Show yourself!"

Gulping slightly, I figured there was nothing to lose. Maybe this person knew something of significance about this particular hut?

I stepped out from behind the door and the person gasped.

"Y-you look just like…" he muttered.

"Like who?" I pressured. Maybe he knew one of my deceased family members.

"Never mind." He shut up quickly and fixed me with a glare. "Who are you and what you doing here?"

"I should be asking _you_ that." I shot back. "This place doesn't belong to you."

He laughed bitterly. "It might not have belonged to me, but it did belong to a person I hold dear. She's gone now, but I will find her."

Something about him seemed familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"What's your name?" I asked hesitantly.

He narrowed his eyes at me and stepped closer. "You are in no position to talk. I've placed you under a jutsu that immobilizes you for the time being. Not that you'd get the chance to break free of it, as you'll be long gone then."

I shivered slightly at his tone and found out he was right. I couldn't move a limb! Panicking slightly, I began to tremble.

"Tsunade-shishou would be so disappointed in me…" I muttered lowly to myself. I completely forgot that the stranger was there and missed the way his eyes widened.

"You know Tsunade?" he asked. I snapped back into reality and blinked.

"Um… yeah. She's my teacher."

"What's your name?" This time, he asked me.

I hesitated for reasons unknown. "Well?" he waited impatiently. "Who are you?"

"M-my name… is Sakura."

This time, he stumbled backwards in shock. "It couldn't possibly be..." he muttered to himself, but couldn't hide or stifle the love or excitement that shone in his eyes. "Sakura-chan? Don't you remember me?"

I still couldn't move, but if there was a chance that he truly did know me before the tragedy, I had to take it.

"I'm sorry. I don't remember you, but I remember this place. I think I used to play in here with a boy slightly older than me. Did you know me before my family was killed?" I asked softly, not wanting to disappoint him.

It was the complete opposite. His eyes began to water and tears began to fall from them.

"Sakura-chan…" he whispered and suddenly lunged at me. I froze in fear but then I realized he had wrapped himself around me. He was… _hugging me._

My lips stayed shut and I wondered when he would explain who he was. I was dying to know. Friend? Childhood boyfriend?

I couldn't take the silence anymore, so I ended up blurting my question out. He started to laugh and I narrowed my gaze.

Wiping his tears away from both laughing and crying, he answered my question,

"Friend, boyfriend? No, my dear. I'm your older brother, Tatsuo. And you're my younger sister, my imouto."

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I would've fainted… if I was able to move.

"Oh, sorry about that." He said sheepishly and then released me from his jutsu. Then my eyes were able to roll back and I slumped to the floor, darkness filling my gaze.


End file.
